CSKA, Yugra qualify for playoffs

Avangard 4-3 Ak Bars

Avangard beat Ak Bars at home to move into second place in the East. The visitors had a two-goal lead at 26:26 with goals by Danis Zaripov and Konstantin Korneyev, but it was erased by the end of the second when Alexander Popov and Sergei Kalinin beat goalie Ivan Kasutin. The game was decided in the third when Alexander Nesterov pulled Avangard ahead after a pass from Yegor Averin and Igor Volkov at 47:17. Yevgeny Skachkov tied the game in the middle of the period but two minutes later Volkov scored the winner to make it 4-3 for Avangard.

Barys 3-2OT Spartak

With 6:38 to play in the third, Spartak still had a chance to make the playffs. At that moment, however, Nigel Dawes tied the game on Barys's first power play of the game, which was caused by Ivan Baranka for holding. The scoring was opened in the first when Roman Lyuduchin converted a pass from Stefan Ruzicka, but 23 seconds later Jiri Novotny tied it at 19:28. Ruzicka assisted again on Lyuduchin's goal, which pulled Spartak ahead at 51:39, followed by Dawes's goal at 53:22. In overtime, Barys was luckier and won the game with Lukas Kaspar's game-breaker at 62:12, causing Spartak to miss the playoffs for the first time in their KHL history.

Avtomobilist 1-0OT Severstal

Avtomobilist has been the most surprising team late in the season. Despite having lost all chances for playoff qualifcation some months, ago they have shown character in every game. On this night, they faced Severstal, who is trying to improve their position in the West. The only goal was scored in overtime when Andrei Shepelenko beat goalie Vasily Koshechkin, who was close to recording his 7th shutout of the season, with assists to Ilya Malyushkin and Viktor Kostyuchenok. Home team goalie Yevgeny Lobanov, with 36 saves, earned his 2nd straight shutout.

Metallurg Mg 2-3 OT Neftekhimik

One of the games not deciding anything was played in Magnitogorsk, where local Metallurg met Neftekhimik. The game's first real action happened in the second period. At 35:29, Alexei Kaigorodov gave Metallurg a lead, but 31 seconds later Yegor Milovzorov tied it. Three minutes later, Maxim Pestushko received a pass from Martin Cibak and with a wrist shot pulled Neftekhimik ahead. In the middle of the third, Oleg Tverdovsky with a slap shot tied the game again. In overtime, Milovzorov, with his 17th goal, ended the game at 3-2 in favour of Neftekhimik.

Traktor 2-3 SO Vityaz

The most surprising result of the night was recorded in Chelyabinsk, where the first-place team in the league lost to the last. Traktor took a lead twice, both times with powerful shots from Petri Kontiola on power plays, but both times it was tied. The first time by Nikolai Bogomolov, then by Yevgeny Timkin with only 59 seconds left to play. Timkin then scored the decisive goal in the shootout to lead Vityaz to the win.

Yugra 4-3 SO Salavat Yulaev

Yugra solved all their problems with playoff qualification at home against Salavat Yulaev. The visitors were more aggressive in the first period, when they scored twice. Alexander Radulov and Viktor Kozlov did the damage, but Yugra answered with an accurate shot from Igor Yemeleyev. In the second, Yugra launched a comeback in the middle of the period. Dmitry Altaryov tied the game and then Stanislav Bocharov gave the home side a lead at 30:28. With 2:53 to play in the second, Oleg Saprykin made it 3-3. In the shootout, only Ivan Khlyntsev managed to beat the opponent's goalie and led Yugra to the win. With this loss, Salavat Yulaev falls back to fourth place in the East. In their next game, Ufa will play against Avangard, which will decide who will finish second in the East.

Atlant 1-4 Amur

Amur began their road trip with a solid win over Atlant 4-1. Andrei Stepanov robbed an Atlant defenceman of the puck and, from middle distance, fired and opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal. Mikko Maenpaa doubled their lead on the power play. A nice move from Janne Niskala cut Amur's lead at 29:06 - also on the power play. Martin Ruzicka showed his abilities in front of Konstantin Barulin's net to make it 3-1 at 49:56. Dmitry Tarasov put the game away with 28 seconds to play into the empty net. Alexei Murygin played a great game in goal with 47 saves.

 

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